How Dianna Agron Preps Her Skin With SK-II for a Major Movie Role

Dianna Agron is just about ready for her close-up. On a winter morning in New York, the Glee star and Novitiate actress steps into her bathroom to get her skin “really glow-y, dewy, hydrated,” three adjectives that read as well on the page as they do on camera. “Everybody feels better when their skin is smooth and radiant,” says Agron, but a knockout complexion is an especially covetable asset for actors. For turns on-screen big or small, “you want someone to be looking at your face, and unless it was an intentional choice for the character, you want to be fresh-faced.” So before she heads off to a shoot, this time for The Laureate in Ireland, she leans into a simple but inarguably effective three-part routine to get her picture-perfect by the time she reaches the bottom of the skin-care bottles.

The fail-safe regimen starts with damage control. After washing her face, Agron soaks a cotton pad with SK-II’s gentle toner, Facial Treatment Clear Lotion, to seamlessly and instantaneously diminish impurities and dullness through a gently exfoliating formula—a disappearing act worthy of a “ta-da!” It’s for SK-II’s best-selling, award-winning Facial Treatment Essence that she reserves the title “miracle water.” Formulated with more than 90 percent of the brand’s signature ingredient, PITERA™, Agron says, “This is the Holy Grail”—likely because this cult favorite J-beauty product enhances radiance; softens and smooths; reduces the appearance of spots and fine lines; and simultaneously firms and evens out her complexion. In other words, she’s only one bottle away from crystal clear skin that, with a starring role on the horizon or not, “is always the ultimate goal.” To supercharge her glow against New York’s whiplash weather changes and jet lag’s harshest side effects, Agron relies on an intensely hydrating moisturizer aptly called R.N.A. Power Cream. Since using it, she says, “I have no dryness at all, but I’m also being really diligent. I apply it two times every day.” She gingerly massages it into her forehead, cheeks, and neck, echoing sage advice given to her by a facialist: “You only have one face. Be nice to your face.”

From there, makeup can be an afterthought. “I’m pretty minimal throughout the day,” says Agron, reaching for a second-skin coconut-based concealer to dab beneath her eyes. “That’s the prime location for that guy. It’s always good to have a little light reflecting beneath your eyes. It makes you look more awake.” She should know. The actress is especially adept at faking a peaceful night’s sleep. A brush-up of her brows even belies her tendency to toss and turn. “When I wake up, my hair and everything on my face is slightly rearranged,” she says, laughing. “So after a shower, I have to make sure [to brush my brows], otherwise there’s something wonky going on.” Finally, a swirling of pink cream blush on the apples of her cheeks makes the just-pinched finish extra luminous. “That’s pretty much me off duty,” she says, bright-eyed, rosy cheeked, and truly boasting a crystal clear face. She exhales in well-deserved satisfaction with the regimen’s simplicity. After all, a fuss-free morning and confident performance is just a bottle away.